Tandridge District Council is delighted a Planning Inspector has declared its Core Strategy, which sets out the key planning policies for the future of the district, to be “sound”, subject to a few changes. The plan will now be adopted by the Council to guide development over the next ten years.
One of the most critical issues the Inspector had to deal with was whether the Council’s strategy for ensuring enough housing is provided while protecting the Green Belt was the right one. Having listened to the evidence put forward by the Council, local residents and developers at the examination meetings in June and July, the Inspector concluded the Council’s strategy will achieve both these aims, which means at present there is no need to allocate any Green Belt land for housing.
The Council is particularly pleased its policy of refusing planning permission for housing schemes of five houses and over on residential garden land, where there is an oversupply of housing, has been supported.
The Inspector also supported the policies on character, design and density. The Inspector strengthened the policy on town centres by including a reference to the former Rose & Young site in Croydon Road, Caterham and the Oxted gasholder site, because of the importance the Council attaches to the redevelopment of these.
The Inspector has asked the Council to carry out an early review of two particular policies. The first is the policy for affordable housing. In the interim the Inspector has recommended a policy based on recent achievements. The second is the policy relating to villages designated as Green Belt Settlements under the 2001 Local Plan. The Inspector wants the Council to consider whether the villages are suitable locations for infilling with housing.
In the meantime the Inspector has recommended the Core Strategy supersede the Local Plan policies on Green Belt settlements.
The Core Strategy is based on extensive public consultation. In 2004 the Council sent a questionnaire to a large number of households and businesses and presentations were given to most parish councils. From the initial comments received the Council developed the draft plan, which was then publicised again and went through two formal consultations with the community, interest groups, landowners and developers. The Inspector praised the Council for the considerable effort it had put into the public consultation process.
In January this year the Council submitted the final draft plan to the Government for approval. The Secretary of State appointed an independent Inspector to hold a public examination of the plan. The examination was held in June and July this year. The event caused a lot of public interest, including large crowds outside the Council Offices in Oxted. Some developers and landowners objected to the Core Strategy because they felt it did not allow enough new development.
Councillor David Weightman, Chairman of the Planning and Environment Committee, said: “To have a sound Core Strategy, which is only the second to be accepted in Surrey, to guide planning decisions over the next few years is a major achievement. The Inspector’s decision is particularly rewarding after a number of years hard work by the Council and because we aimed to ensure the plan takes into account the community’s wish to protect the environment of the towns, villages and countryside. “
A copy of the Inspector’s report is available on www.tandridge.gov.uk.
